Think of carnival,1.you think of crowds,costumes and2.(confuse).The most famous carnival in Europe was in Venice.At the beginning,it lasted for just one day.People ate,drank and wore masks.As time passed,3.,the carnival period4.(extend)so that it began just after Christmas.For weeks5.end people walked around the streets wearing masks,doing what they wanted without6.(recognize).Ordinary people could pretend7.(be) rich and important,8.famous people could have romantic adventures9.(secret).Many crimes went10.(punish).
My elder brother,Steve,in the____of my father who died when I was six,gave me important lessons in____that helped me grow into an adult.For example,Steve taught me to face the____of my behavior.Once when I returned in ____from a Saturday baseball game,it was Steve who____the time to ask me what happened.When I____that my baseball had flown through Mrs.Holt's basement window,____the glass with a crash,Steve encouraged me to apologize to her.After all,I____not have played in the path between buildings.____my knees knocked as I explained to Mrs.Holt.I____to pay for the window if she would return my ball.
I also learned from Steve that____property is a sacred（神圣的）thing.After I found,a silver pen in my fifth-grade classroom,I wanted to____it,but Steve explained that it might be important to____else in spite of the fact that it had little value.He reminded me of____I'd hate to lose the small dog my father gave me to someone else.I returned the pen to my teacher,Mrs.David.
Yet of all the____Steve gave me,his respect for____is the most vivid in my mind.When I was twelve,I killed an old brown sparrow in the park with a BB gun.____with my accuracy,I screamed to Steve to come from the house to have a look.I shall never forget the____he stood for a long moment and stared at the bird."Did it____you first, Mark?"he asked.I didn't know what to answer.I really felt terrible then,but that moment____out as the most important lesson my brother taught me.
1.A. charge B. absence C. respect D. presence
2.A. memories B. truth C. values D. honesty
3.A. advantages B. reasons C. realities D. results
4.A. surprise B. tears C. joy D. smiles
5.A. took B. spent C. cost D. paid
6.A. insisted B. introduced C. declared D. explained
7.A. injuring B. damaging C. breaking D. destroying
8.A. could B. must C. would D. should
9.A. Since B. Although C. Because D. Unless
10.A. refused B. offered C. afforded D. managed
11.A. personal B. valuable C. public D. whole
12.A. save B. keep C. pick D. return
13.A. no one B. everyone C. someone D. anyone
14.A. why B. when C. how D. what
15.A. information B. descriptions C. opinions D. instructions
16.A. life B. people C. family D. things
17.A. Proud B. Encouraged C. Relaxed D. Excited
18.A. way B. time C. place D. scene
19.A. affect B. interrupt C. hurt D. fight
20.A. stands B. reaches C. turns D. holds
Imagine looking out of your window and seeing a whale swim by.That's the sight that surprises New York City residents recently.In the past years,humpback whales have been spotted in the two rivers surrounding the island of Manhattan,the Hudson River and the East River.1.
Experts say that river cleanup efforts have improved water quality and led to an increase in the number of fish there.Fish are on the humpback's menu.2.The sighting is also an encouraging sign that conservation efforts are helping humpback whales come back.In 1973,the species was listed as the endangered.Now scientists say humpback whales are making a comeback.
By the middle of the 20th century,hunting whales for profit had nearly wiped out many whale species.In 1973, the U.S. set up the Endangered Species Act.People were no longer allowed to hunt them in the U.S. waters.In 1982, the International Whaling is illegal worldwide.3.Last September,it was announced that nine groups of humpback whales are no longer endangered.Four groups are still endangered and a fifth is threatened.
4.The number of them is growing particularly faster in the Southern Hemisphere like Tasman Sea and Coral Sea.And the number of humpback whales in Hawaii has made an amazing recovery.In 1966,there were fewer than 1,500 humpbacks there.Today there are about 10,000.But humpbacks in other parts of the world are still struggling.
5.“We still have a lot of work to do,”says Angela Somma,head of NOAAS Fisheries’ endangered Species division.“But with the right protection,the number of humpback whales should continue to grow.
A.Those efforts to save whales are paying off.
B.People are frightened when seeing whales in the river.
C.Last year,one even swam past where the mayor lives.
D.Today there are about 100,000 humpback whales worldwide.
E.The extra food in the rivers is mainly what’s attracting the whales.
F.Scientists have carried out further research on the number of the whales.
G.Scientists say that the focus needs to be on the whales that are still struggling.
In the early times,the music industry was terrified of taping,thinking that customers would just copy music,or record from the radio.But that never really happened,at least not enough to cause any real hardship to anyone in the music business.
The same argument arose over technologies like miniDisc and recordable CDs.But the thing that terrified the music industry more than anything else was the arrival of services like Napster,which allowed people to share music over the Internet without costing them anything.The music industry was shocked: it saw people exchanging digital copies that didn’t degrade（降级）with each transfer,something that kept tapes from being a huge threat.
But it wasn't the Internet that killed the music industry.In fact,everything is still looking optimistic for many musicians.Taylor Swift has had a good year,and her latest album is likely to be making her very wealthy indeed.And that won’t change in all likelihood,not for Swift,and not for those who come after her.There is always going to be public demand for music.
However,the technology will simply destroy the record company.The reason is simple.Record companies are a man in the middle that simply doesn’t need to exist anymore.The same way we buy our flights directly did get our shopping online and have things delivered from Amazon instead of going to a local shop.We have always been willing to enjoy cost reductions at the expense of the middleman and the record companies are that kind of middleman.
What does the record industry offer?Well,surprisingly little these days.It used to be the case that record companies would go and find new talents.Of course this still happens,but more likely is that an artist will be discovered by the public through YouTube,or even from friends on Facebook or Twitter.Record companies also used to have an important role in producing the music.But countless artists are making their own way through software or any of the other amazing music development apps,without any help from the record companies.
1.Why didn’t tape copying become a serious danger to the music industry?
A. It was hard to transfer.
B. It was strictly controlled.
C. It didn’t save much money.
D. It was replaced by miniDisc and recordable CDs.
2.The example of Taylor Swift is fused to prove that______.
A. the demand for music is on the increase due to the Internet
B. the sales of albums are badly affected by the Internet
C. the Internet doesn’t have a destructive effect on the music industry
D. the musicians make a great fortune via the Internet
3.The record companies will suffer most because________.
A. they are in the middle way and block the development of the music industry.
B. the record industry can offer nothing to us
C. people prefer to cut down the expenses at the cost of the record companies
D. the public pa more attention to Facebook or Twitter
As we all know,drinking beers while running can upset the stomach.However,that's all part of the attraction of the Beer Mile,a unique race that has participants competing in running and drinking.The Beer Mile Race started off as a tradition in 1990,when a group of Canadians thought it would be fun to race each other while drinking a few beers.But it has come a long way since then.The Beer Mile Race is now a major sporting event with around 100,000 official competitors,brand name sponsors and so on.In 2015,the first Beer Mile World Classic was held in San Francisco,where all of the record holders from Canada and the United States came together for the competition.But this year,the event was organized in London,in an effort to take in more competitors about the sport outside North America.
The rules of the race are pretty simple: runners have to consume four beers before each of the four 400-meter laps making up the famous Beer Mile.The beers can come in bottles or cans but should not be less than 355ml and must be at least 5% alcohol.The drink like apple juice will not do.Runners must drink the beers within a 10 meter zone before the start/finish line and then they are required to tip the bottle/can over their heads to confirm it is empty.
In the case of vomiting（呕吐）during the race,and yes,there’s quite a bit of that during the Beer.Mile,offenders must complete one more lap at the end of the race.Organizers mention that even in the case of vomiting several times, only one more lap must be completed.
This year,the Elite Men's race was won by Canadian Corey Bellemore,who also set a new world record with a time of 4 minutes and 34 seconds.“I just drink the beers as quickly as I could,hold them down and get the burps（饱嗝）out,”Corey said.“If you can drink a beer in 8 seconds and also run very fast with a feeling of vomiting,then you’ll be fine like me.”
1.What can we know about the Beer Mile Race from Paragraph 1?
A. It was highly admired by drinkers.
B. It was developed very well.
C. It was criticized by many people.
D. It was only held in English speaking countries.
2.The purpose the 2016 Beer Mile held in London was______.
A. to collect more fund for the sport
B. to raise wide awareness about the sport
C. to encourage competitors to put more efforts into it
D. to attract more people worldwide to participate in it
3.What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?
A. The rules of drinking beers.
B. The rules of the Beer Mile Race.
C. The standard of drinking beers.
D. The zones of drinking beers.
4.What is implied in Corey's words in the last paragraph?
A. Everybody can run in the race if they are interested.
B. The speed of drinking beers makes him win.
C. A lot of preparations are needed to win the race.
D. It is not easy for him to win the race.
Nobody should ever be turned away from a church.I've always said that and have believed it,but I had to put it in practice the other night.It was my birthday,and we had a party at church,upstairs in the hall.My son Tim's roommate Garth sang in a great band,the Rooks,and they played for us.They performed wonderfully.
Suddenly I noticed a man I’d never really seen before.He was big,never took off his coat or hat and stood in the middle of the room,looking a bit nervous.A homeless guy had just wandered into my birthday party,I thought.And I kept thinking about the guy who hadn't been invited,I meant to head over to him and politely asked him to leave. Wait a minute,I thought.Should anybody be turned away from God's house?Of course other uncertain thoughts crossed my mind: What if he was here to make trouble?What was under that coat?What if he was a terrorist?But some higher born qualities held sway."Hi,"I said,walking over to him."I'm Rick.This is a birthday party for me. Would you like something to eat?"He nodded his head.I got him a plate of food and told him he was welcome to stay. He nodded.He stayed there in the center of the room,smiling and swaying to the music.After a long time I looked for him again,and he was gone.
I've always loved the parable（寓言）of Luke about the man who gives a big dinner and when no one comes,he sends his servants into the city streets to welcome the poor,homeless,disabled and blind.I don't know who invited this guy but I was glad he was there.I hope he had a good time.
1.What do we know about the homeless man?
A. He left the party alone on account of shame.
B. The author was first doubtful and had meant to make him leave.
C. The author would have refused him if they hadn't been in the church.
D. He was invited to the party by the author's friends.
2.What does the underlined part “held sway” in Paragraph 2 mean?
A. Came about slowly.
B. Became very angry.
C. Ruled or controlled.
D. Calmed down suddenly.
3.What do the author and the man Luke have in common?
A. They are willing to help those in need.
B. They are likely to be rich and popular.
C. They like to hold all kinds of parties.
D. They happened to encounter the same homeless man.
4.Which would be the best title for this passage?
A. My unforgettable birthday party.
B. An unexpected birthday guest.
C. How to show love to others.
D. What I have learnt from Luke.
